Here are some photos of the trip up Berdoo Canyon near Palm Springs, CA. The approach was from Indio on Dillon Road, with a right turn north up the canyon. Forgive the crude route map.

The road up the canyon was paved at one time. Some parts you can still drive, but most of the route up to the former aqueduct camp skips the road and follows the bottom of the wash.

The Goodyear MT/R tires run normally at 65 psi. We aired down to 45 psi to smooth things out a bit. Here we have just passed the camp ruins and are entering Joshua Tree National Park.

Most of the trail was easy going with a mix of small rocks and packed sand. There were two tight spots low in the canyon which required some spotting. The first had a small step up as well, and we met a Jeep tour on its way down.

The jeep looks a little small next to the van.

We climbed throughout, but in a few places we climbed more than others.

When we passed the jeep, I asked the driver about the trail ahead. She said there was a rock pile ahead that would be "fun". I got a sinking feeling as I thought about billwilson's comments. Eventually we got there. The canyon had alternated off an on from wide to narrow. Now it got to the narrow side. It's definitely no Steel Pass in DV, but it took some care. Really, the rocks looked much bigger in person.

That's my buddy Andy who joined me from LA for the day.

I found out from another jeep driver up past this point that they call this section "The Cataract". She asked, "Did you come up the Cataract in that?" "Why yes, I did."

Once through Cataract, we entered the more open desert. The road was sandy but firm. It was narrow in spots and I had to dodge joshua trees and other brush at times.

Eventually we joined the Geology Tour Road.

We made a quick stop at Jumbo Rocks CG, then east toward the Cottonwood Entrance.

We stopped by the cholla cactus patch on the way out.

After reading the "TRIP REPORT: Death Valley & Surroundings Jan. 2010 (Long)" at viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4572, this seems a bit anti-climactic, but it was a fun afternoon, and not too difficult.

billwilson - I keep thinking about why our assessments of the trail were different. There were a couple of things that could make this more difficult.

1. Rain. You're basically driving in the streambed. After recent rain, the water could cut some pretty big steps in many parts of the road. In our case, the trail was well worn in by the jeep tours, so other than the points noted above, it wasn't too bad.

2. Down vs. Up. In the lower part of the canyon, there are a couple of places where the upper transition onto the old pavement is smooth and inviting. However, on the downstream side, there is a significant step. You wouldn't know this coming down. Photo #1 is a good example. I wouldn't want to drive up this either! On the way up, you can see these coming and have the option of detouring through the dry streambed.

Great report...thanks. Nice pics. Man you wouldn't want to run through that cactus patch! Yea, I try to avoid partial paved roads but it added to your adventure. Will file that one in the memory bank.
Dave

I have a 2WD sportsmobile with a 4" Lift and 33" BFG A/T KO2's. Do you think this road is doable with that setup? Its got the 5.4L V8 gas FYI

I went down Berdoo a couple of weeks ago on my motorcycle. I have a 2WD E-350 RB with open diff in the rear and have driven on some pretty rugged roads. I think you'd definitely have problems getting up in current conditions with 2WD open diff. Probably could make it down with good line choice, but no room for error as I doubt you'd be able to back up much (if at all) for any line correction. I wished I had taken more pics and looked at it closer with van travel in mind. Some pics of the crux section and easier section below. As usual, its steeper than it looks. I am also uploading a video and will post later today.